 Hey, good morning, welcome to Morning Prayer on Holy Tuesday. Really excited about, this is kind of the first time in the prayer room that we have gone on the Holy Week journey throughout our prayer meetings and in the mornings and last night we had a Seder dinner led by Scott Volk, incredible time, rich time and really just excited about going on this journey together and just to be honest, I'm excited about being able to launch into intercession. We're not gonna kind of pause from intercession during Holy Week, but we're gonna actually use Jesus' journey to launch us into intercession. We actually see some of Jesus' deepest moments of intercession actually take place during Holy Week. And we're gonna join that journey and today is Holy Tuesday and so starts off with the seven woes and so I'm just gonna start rebuking people right now and just to really do it right, no, I'm just kidding. But what I love about it and it's where we're gonna kind of zoom in for prayer is, you know, he delivers these intense rebukes to the scribes and Pharisees, but we see at the end the scripture we're about to read. After he's done, he weeps over Jerusalem and he says, I long to gather you like a hen gathered her chicks and so you see the vulnerability and the tenderness and compassion of the Father's heart that bleeds through Jesus in that moment and I just can't help but be in that passage and scripture and join his broken heart first for the lost sheep of Israel who have rejected him and the blinders that have gone in their eyes and then secondly for the nations that also miss the day of his visitation and can't see Jesus and even those who are gonna be in our churches on Sunday out of religious tradition but still can't see Jesus and who he really is right in front of their eyes and a God whose heart breaks and so we're gonna spend some time interceding for that. I just wanna read this passage which is Matthew 23, 37 that he delivers. He says, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stone those who are sent to it. How often I would gather your children together as a hen gathers, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings and you were not willing. See your house is left to be desolate for I tell you you will not see me again until you say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Let's go before the Lord in prayer. Jesus, this morning we are just in awe that we worship a God who is not indifferent, a God who is not vindictive who when he's rejected he doesn't say well fine I'll reject you too but there's a heart that bleeds there's a heart that breaks there's a heart that intercedes there's a heart that weeps with those who weep. So Jesus this morning we just asked that you would soften our hearts Lord that even as we go on this journey with you through Holy Week Lord that we would have a heart that's tender just like you Jesus you were the man who was the most alive nobody was ever more alive than you on the earth you didn't have a sin nature Lord a heart in your heart or to have a callousness or a coldness but your heart was alive and radiant and filled with emotion and passion and life and we wanna join you in that this morning and so just ask that you would soften our hearts this morning Lord bring us into the journey Lord that we would actually feel what you feel Lord we would not just say the words with our mouth and say the words that you said but we would feel what you felt when you said them that we would actually cry your tears with you we would feel the emotions and the depths of your heart and your love this morning so when you pray to the scribes and Pharisees and messes woe to you scribes and Pharisees you hypocrites for you shut the kingdom of heaven you shut the door to the kingdom of heaven in people's faces and I just was thinking that as we're singing this show me your face of this so many people see a hidden God who's hidden from them not realizing he's hidden for them and that Jesus is the open door and he wants his face to be seen and he wants us to seek his face like this beautiful song we just sang laid out God we wanna see your face is your God who wants to be seen and hidden and the spirit of religion loves to shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people's faces and says nope try another door try another combination God doesn't wanna see you God doesn't wanna know you and this morning as we head into this time of intercession let's go before a God who wants us to see his face that actually rebuked the religious leaders for making it difficult for people to see the face of God and to enter into the kingdom of heaven so Jesus we long to see your face or like the chorus we sung this morning Lord we wanna behold the land God hearts that behold Lord this week Lord I just ask that you would shake us from our boredom, from our familiarity Lord that we would just behold the land that we would have this grace to boldly seek your face and to see you and what you're doing. I wanna turn to take the intercession on the wall what Jesus interceded in Matthew 23 on Holy Tuesday Jerusalem Jerusalem the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings and you were not willing see your house is left to you desolate for I tell you you will not see me again until you say blessed to see who comes in the name of the Lord. Lord we take our place on the wall Lord as Isaiah 62 intercessors the ones the watchmen that you set on the walls to pray for Jerusalem and the peace of Jerusalem and Lord we remember your people this morning Lord we remember the ones with whom the covenants came through the one who the prophets came through Lord we remember the ones that you chose even for your own son to come through that line and Lord we remember Lord the blinders that have been placed over their eyes so the fullness of the Gentiles may come in Lord we are not those who boast against the tree Lord we are not those wild branches Lord who boast against but we know we have been grafted in Lord you have made a way because of this blindness and you have grafted us into the olive branch and Lord we say thank you for that and Lord as primarily Gentiles Lord we don't boast in arrogance and just say well Israel missed it glad we have our way and Lord we wanna join your prayer that breaks for your city of Jerusalem Lord this place that you have destined for your glory Lord this place this little plot of land to where your new Jerusalem will come down and your throne will sit forever and ever there will be a river that flows from the center of the city of David Lord this city this little plot of land that you said this is where I long to return and Lord in this hour Lord we ask we know that in that day all Israel will be saved we know when your feet stand on the Mount of Olives and split it in two Lord the weakest of them will fight like David and the strongest like God and they will look on the one they pierced and they will mourn in that day but Lord we ask in the in between Lord in today Lord for those living in the land and for Jews all over the earth Lord during Holy Week God we ask Lord that they would be like chicks gathered to their hand Lord that their eyes would be opened Lord that you would lift blinders from the eyes or even just like the testimony we heard this Sunday Lord in a moment you save one person in a family and then the rest of the family gets radically saved and encountered or we ask as Jews celebrate Passover Lord as they break bread Lord as they take communion even though they don't know that it's communion Lord would you encounter them or when they drink the wine or that your blood would wash them that their eyes would be open to see Jesus as sacrifice or that the stumbling block the chief cornerstone the one who surprised the nation and died on a cross instead of took and grasped political power but came as a servant lowly and humble oh God that you would show the beauty of the cross the wisdom of the cross Lord it's foolishness to those who are perishing even to the Jew who does not see the cross as such a waste and such foolishness but for those of us who are being saved it is the power of God we know the wisdom and glory and the riches of the splendor of God displayed in the cross and so we lift before you Jerusalem today we lift before you the Jewish people and God we ask we join with the prayer of Jesus saying Lord we want them to be gathered and Lord we want them to cry out blessed to see who comes in the name of the Lord and so Lord we ask for a token and the down payment of that moment that will come on that day when all of Israel will be saved God we ask that you would save those who are of Jewish heritage Lord this week Lord in the name of Jesus feel the sun oh feel the sun let's chorus together just as our prayer Lord let them have another look Lord just like so many in that day when Jesus walked by they only saw a Jewish carpenter they did not see the glory of God revealed in the face of Jesus they missed the day of their visitation they missed the wisdom and the beauty and the glory of the cross but Lord just like every one of us in this room and over the stream at one point we also didn't see Jesus we missed him we had blinders over our eyes and you lifted those blinders and you showed us the beauty and the wisdom and the majesty you showed us the glory of God revealed in the face of Jesus Christ and so Lord we ask that you would do that for our Jewish friends Lord we say no one is too far gone Lord I think this morning of Paul Lord this one who killed Christians who was so deceived that he killed your people thinking he was doing God a service Lord on the road to Damascus Lord you appeared before him in a bright light said Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me in one moment Lord you turned a murderer Lord into an apostle Lord you stopped him in his tracks you blinded his eyes to what he saw and you opened his eyes to see Jesus God we ask would you do that for many Jews today God on the road to Damascus Lord on their road going somewhere to to stand against you Lord that you would show yourself as high and exalted and lifted high that you would show yourself seated at the right hand of the Father that you would show your resurrected glorified full self Lord Lord that they would look upon the one they pierced and they would mourn Lord in one moment Lord you can remove blinders or no heart is too hard entrenched or steeped into a spirit of religion that they cannot be encountered by the love of God where they cannot see the beauty of Jesus so Lord like you did for Saul like you did for so many we see in scriptures of your own people Lord we ask for the people of Israel Lord for the Jewish people this week that you would open their eyes that they would see Jesus we say we agree with this chorus Lord we want all of Israel to see Jesus so would you glorify and reveal the Son in the name of Jesus we're just going to continue in that place of intercession earlier we were singing Behold the Lamb and as we were singing that over and over I just had this picture in my mind of the Holy Spirit just coming and putting a hand under chins all across this city and just lifting gazes from prodigals to the unsaved to the believers of alike just lifting our gaze lifting our chins to heaven and just being stunned by the beauty of the Lord and so even as we've been standing in that place of intercession specifically for Israel what I want to do now is I want to press in for a spirit of revelation all across the city of Kalamazoo this week and as we go into Good Friday services and into Easter services that truly there would be a beholding of the Lamb of God and his beauty Ephesians chapter one says we do not cease giving thanks for you while making mention of you in my prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of glory may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him and so Lord we do we just agree with your heart this morning for the city of Kalamazoo for every believer young and old alike for every prodigal son and daughter for every unsaved loved one Lord who will be coming this weekend Lord just simply out of tradition out of ritual but Lord we're asking that you would surprise them that Holy Spirit you would lift the gazes of people Lord as we gather days to behold the Lamb of God the beauty of Jesus we're asking Lord that you would release a spirit of revelation from the moment people cross the thresholds into services God that there would be a revelatory understanding and encounter with the beauty of the Lamb of God the beauty of the cross the beauty of your love the beauty of your sacrifice the beauty of your resurrection Lord we're asking break in break in and even now begin to lift gazes put your hand Holy Spirit under our chin the chins of believers leaders little ones God that we would begin to lift our gaze and receive a new understanding a new picture of Jesus we ask in your name love the transformation that you do Holy Spirit as we behold Jesus thank you thank you for transforming us into his very likeness more and more and more we thank you we bless you Lord gosh it's hard to stop singing that isn't it in heaven that song just never stops it just never stops so Lord I just ask you that all that's transpired in this little bit of time that you would multiply many times over many hours over in this place and across this city and across our land and the nations of the world that there would be perpetual praise in the earth God on earth as it is in heaven raising up a declaration of the worth you possess Christ Jesus we bless you we commit our days into your hand and Lord I ask that you would just give a special grace for us to keep that gaze today amidst all the busyness and the meetings Lord I pray that there would be an inner gaze upon the Lamb of God and hearts that just flow all afternoon in gratitude and thanksgiving in your name we pray well thank you for joining us this morning we're back here at noon praying for the nations and then tonight at 6 30 come on down